What the Chuuk?

Sorry to leave you all in suspense! I know the last big blog I had included our trip from Pohnpei to… well Pohnpei. We are now in Chuuk (formerly called Truk). Our flight was at 0130 on Monday, 10/3/11. By the time we landed and got to the hotel room with our luggage, I was in bed by 0300 or so (that’s including the time zone change when we landed). No one from the hospital met with us when we landed. I wouldn’t want to get up at 145am either but fortunately we were able to get people from the hotel pick us up. We’re staying at the Truk Stop, a place run by a former chief of police (I think that’s what he did but not quite certain. I do know he was a high ranking law enforcer who brought order to Chuuk). But yeah, that's why I was unable to update the blog, I was catching up on some sleep =)

Chuuk definitely has some rough edges. There is a dramatic difference in culture, society, and the people when compared to the other two islands. The first noticeable difference is the state’s current economic condition. There are very few paved roads. The dirt road is constantly wet from locals dumping their dirty water into the street or from the rain. The mud forms and it’s not uncommon to see cars have spinning wheels as they press the accelerator without physically moving. These create holes and divots which dry and become wet. Over time, these smaller divots have created huge bumps and very unsteady roads for driving. I was driving today and we came upon a section of the road that had collapsed. Clearly on the sides of the road were broken remnants of the concreate pavement that once existed. Now it was a 4-5 foot deep trench with 2-3 feet of water in it. I wasn’t able to see if within the trench had huge rocks or pot holes or anything dangerous like that. We promptly turned around and found a different route to take. The walls and buildings are littered with graffiti. I was unable to assess if it was due to gang affiliation or simply names but nonetheless the buildings were tagged full of random writing.

There is a lot more beetle nut chewing here compared to the other islands. Beetle nut can be compared to as tobacco chewing. Creates some buzz of some sort and it’s not meant to be swallowed. Thus, beetle nut chewers spit and the saliva that comes out is a very dirty dark red. It’s very easy to spot the beetle nut chewers as their teeth are either red as clay, missing, or they have enamel fillings (is it called fillings when it’s on the outside of the tooth?). It’s a nasty habit that both males and females are addicted to. I guess to create an even stronger kick, kids have been wrapping up crushed beetle nut with tobacco from a cigarette and then squeezing lime on it to chew. The walls are stained red and it seems everywhere you look you see someone chewing, ranging from teenagers to adults.

If you could steal $100 bucks with absolutely NO consequences, would you? Knowing that there will be absolutely no punishment should you get caught because no one is looking to catch you, would you still perform the act? Well for a long time, that was what was going on in Chuuk. This may look like art but really it was a tool used by many indigenous to hurt other people. On the bottom is a homemade slingshot; on top, wooden darts with rhubarb (think of the metal wires in concrete) tips that have been sharpened. There are many variations of the dart but the idea is essentially identical: to hurt, maim or even kill other people. One of the island doctors informed us that people would come in with numerous darts impaled into them, many of which whom died. The most he has ever pulled out of one victim was seven darts. The scariest part: the local police would not go after these murderers. That is until Bill (Truk Stop owner) came along and finally deemed this tool of violence “dangerous” (don’t ask me why it wasn’t done sooner). Bill made it illegal to have these items in your possession and anyone caught with it went to jail. Those who put up a fight were “assisted to the floor” and they had “talks to discourage resistance.” Though these rhubarb darts are outlawed, there are still cases of their use.

Sad story: Bill’s nephew (Bill is married a local Chuukanese woman) and his friend were playing with a loaded gun. You already know where I’m going with this. Long story short, Bill’s nephew was shot through the heart and died instantly. The friend never got in trouble. No jail sentence, no fine, no anything. Bill told the boy’s father to have him arrested simply so he can feel some punishment for the deed, especially since it won’t be serious as there is no real consequence. The boy’s father refused. Over the years the friend gained a lot of weight and got hooked on to drugs and alcohol. The friend died at age 29 from a myocardial infarction (heart attack). It is believed that the friend felt so much resentment after the death of his friend that he was eaten by his guilt, especially since he was never punished. Unfortunately it took two lives before the friend’s father understood what Bill was trying to say.

This is our rental car. What’s really sweet about this car is that it’s the first rental car we got that has the driver on the right side. This was the first time I have ever driven on the right side in a car and it’s actually pretty intimidating to do so. I mean, to pass someone up, I feel like 3/4 of my car is in the other lane. I guess the poor road conditions aren’t helpful either. True story on the car’s band aid: it happened the night before we got it. The car was parked in front of the hotel and someone threw a rock at the window and broke it. When we have rented a car on the other islands, the first question we asked is insurance. There is no insurance available on Chuuk. Not just specific to our car rental agency, but the island overall. I asked what if this window incident happened while the car was under someone’s name. They said they would eat half and the renter would have to pay the other half. Totally not cool, especially since the rock was thrown in THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT when the car was PARKED AT THE HOTEL as the renter was SLEEPING IN THEIR BED.

The hospital is capable of having 110 or so beds for inpatient services. Whether or not they really have this many is to be determined. Their emergency room has 4 beds, all within an arm’s reach of each other with no curtain or barrier for privacy or any type of segregation. You could be seen in the ED for a mild headache and the person next to you could easily be a victim of the rhubarb darts who is bleeding to death. All while there is family members in the same room while doctors and nurses work on patients. This picture is a patient’s room. Though there is only 1 visible patient (the baby in the lady’s arms), clearly you can see there are 5 other people in the room with the patient. Family visiting is not the significance of this picture. What is significant is the fact that this patient is considered “isolated” due to some communicable disease, yet family members are touching/playing with the patient though they are supposed to be isolated! I would bet my top dollar they don’t wash their hands or clothes right when they leave or get home so it’s quite feasible to state these people expose others to diseases.

Technology available at the hospital is also a concern. This picture shows the electrodes of an EKG machine. This is a much Much MUCH older machine that uses suction bulbs in lieu of electrode clips and stickers. To my understanding, the machine does work just as well when compared to its electrode clip successor. In fact, it makes sense to employ this type of EKG machine because the maintenance of disposable stickers would be too costly. This is my first exposure to this type of EKG machine so I found it pretty neat to see it in action. The only downside to using suction bulbs opposed to stickers is that it doesn’t stick well most of the time thus being quite impossible to obtain pediatric EKGs. Also hairy patients (includes both men and women) are hard to have EKGs performed on using this suction bulb.

This little man has the coolest hair. He had to travel from one of the many remote islands of Chuuk to the main island (Weno, where we currently work from) in order to be evaluated. There is an issue with many “no shows” but hearing stories like his where it is a very difficult task to come to Weno, it’s quite understandable. Chuuk hospital also utilizes Pohnpei State Hospital’s strategy of announcing patient appointments over the radio (how many people own radios?).

Food on the island can’t be compared to many other places. We are staying at the hotel with the best food on the entire island and it includes burgers, pizza and even pasta. The dessert look absolutely decadent but upon closer inspection, I think I’ll pass.

Honestly, once you take a step back (somewhere safe) and take a look at Chuuk, it really is a nice place. If you are a diver, this is the specific island in all the FSM to be. I guess during World War 2, there were a lot of Japanese ships that were sunk here. The remains of these vessels are still here and divers love to explore these man-made underwater ship ruins. The diving is what makes the island so legendary but the scenic views atop the water aren’t too shabby either. I am very comfortable with our hotel and the staff is super friendly. Hospital staff have been extremely nice. Patients and their families have all displayed great character. A lot of people stare and if I recall correctly, I am NOT supposed to stare back unless I wanted a confrontation.

I was told not to go out at night. With all these stories I’ve heard, I won’t. But they didn’t say anything about sunsets =)